University Scholar Series: Alison McKee

The Woman’s Film of the 1940s: Gender, Narrative, and History On February 25, 2015, Dr. Alison L. McKee spoke in the University Scholar Series hosted by Provost Andy Feinstein at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Dr. McKee discussed her recent book, The Woman’s Film of the 1940s: Gender, Narrative, and History, which addresses the terrain between official public histories and private experiences of love, desire, and loss against the backdrop of World War II. McKee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Television, Radio, Film, and Theatre Arts at SJSU. She specializes in film history, theory and criticism, and gender issues. In particular, her interests include how gender and sexuality shape and inform narratives across different media.https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/uss/1021/thumbnail.jp

Type 2 diabetes in Tirana City, Albania: a rapid increase in a country in transition.

AIMS: To determine how the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus has changed in Tirana, the capital of Albania, over 20 years. METHODS: Cluster sampling was used to select 700 households including 1540 adults 25 years of age and over in Tirana City, Albania in 2001. RESULTS: Of 1540 potential subjects, 1120 participated (response rate 72.7%). Using the 1985 WHO criteria to provide comparability with earlier data, the overall prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus in the age group 25+ was 6.3% (95% confidence interval 4.8-7.7); 6.9% (4.8-9.1%) male; 5.6% (3.8-7.5%) female. The age-adjusted prevalence in those aged 25+ was 5.4%. Of respondents, 3.4% were known to have diabetes, and 2.9% were newly identified through the survey. The prevalence of diabetes increased with age, although among men there was a slight decline after age 65. Impaired glucose tolerance was found in a further 2.9% of respondents, again increasing with age. The prevalence of diabetes has increased significantly since 1980, doubling in the age group 50+. Use of the 1999 WHO diagnostic criteria produces a higher unadjusted prevalence, at 9.7% (8-11.4%). In a logistic regression model, obesity and family history were independent determinants of the probability of having diabetes. Among those known to have diabetes, control was poor. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of diabetes in Albania has increased rapidly, consistent with what has been seen in other countries undergoing rapid modernization. It is likely to increase further in the future, with important implications for health policy

Improving continence services for older people from the service-providers' perspective: a qualitative interview study

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 3.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial.Objective To examine in depth the views and experiences of continence service leads in England on key service and continence management characteristics in order to identify and to improve our understanding of barriers to a good-quality service and potential facilitators to develop and to improve services for older people with urinary incontinence (UI). Design Qualitative semistructured interviews using a purposive sample recruited across 16 continence services. Setting 3 acute and 13 primary care National Health Service Trusts in England. Participants 16 continence service leads in England actively treating and managing older people with UI. Results In terms of barriers to a good-quality service, participants highlighted a failure on the part of commissioners, managers and other health professionals in recognising the problem of UI and in acknowledging the importance of continence for older people and prevalent negative attitudes towards continence and older people. Patient assessment and continence promotion regardless of age, rather than pad provision, were identified as important steps for a good-quality service for older people with UI. More rapid and appropriate patient referral pathways, investment in service capacity, for example, more trained staff and strengthened interservice collaborations and a higher profile within medical and nurse training were specified as being important facilitators for delivering an equitable and high-quality continence service. There is a need, however, to consider the accounts given by our participants as perhaps serving the interests of their professional group within the context of interprofessional work. Conclusions Our data point to important barriers and facilitators of a good-quality service for older people with UI, from the perspective of continence service leads. Further research should address the views of other stakeholders, and explore options for the empirical evaluation of the effectiveness of identified service facilitators.Funding was received from the New Dynamics of Ageing Programme, led by the Economic & Social Research Council, UK (grantnumber RES-353-25-0010)

Mixed tenure orthodoxy: practitioner reflections on policy effects

This article examines mixed tenure as a policy orthodoxy. It first sets out how mixed tenure may be considered to constitute an orthodoxy within planning, being generally accepted as a theory and practice even in the absence of supporting evidence. Five elements of this orthodoxy are identified, relating to (1) housing and the environment, (2) social change, (3) economic impacts, (4) sustainable communities, (5) and sociospatial integration. Interviews with practitioners involved with three social housing estates that have experienced mixed-tenure policy interventions are reported to consider why the implementation and effects of mixed tenure might not correspond with the orthodox understanding. It is argued that policy ambiguity and weaknesses in policy theory and specification, alongside practical constraints, lie behind incomplete and counterproductive policy implementation, but a belief in pursuing the policy orthodoxy persists nevertheless

Evaluation of gauge-radar merging methods for quantitative precipitation estimation in hydrology: a case study in the Upper Thames River basin

Hydrological models rely on accurate precipitation data in order to produce results with a high degree of confidence and serve as valuable flood forecasting and warning tools. Gauge-radar merging methods combine rainfall estimates from rain gauges and weather radar in order to capitalize on the strengths of the individual instruments and produce precipitation data with greater accuracy for input to hydrological models. A comprehensive review of gauge-radar merging methods reveals that there is an opportunity for near-real time application in hydrological models. The performance of four well known gauge-radar merging methods, including mean field bias correction, Brandes spatial adjustment, local bias correction using kriging and conditional merging, are examined using Environment Canada radar and the Upper Thames River basin in southwestern Ontario, Canada, as a case study. The analysis assesses the effect of gauge-radar merging methods on: 1) the accuracy of predicted rainfall accumulations; and 2) the accuracy of predicted stream flows using a semi-distributed hydrological model. In addition, several influencing factors (i.e., gauge density, storm type, basin type, proximity to the radar tower and time-step of adjustment) are analysed to determine their effect on the performance of the rainfall estimation techniques. Results indicate that gauge-radar merging methods can increase the accuracy of both rainfall accumulation estimations and predicted stream flows over the use of raw radar and rain gauges alone. Results from this study provide guidance for hydrologists and engineers assessing whether the addition of corrected radar products will improve rainfall estimation and hydrological modelling accuracy

Exploring wellbeing in older male farmers in Western Australia

In the context of an ageing population it has become increasingly important to identify the determinants of wellbeing in older adulthood. A review of the literature relevant to wellbeing and strengths relevant to older male farmers in Australia was conducted. This body of knowledge was identified to be sparse. Existing literature on farming primarily had a deficits focus, and only a small number of qualitative studies were specific to older male farmers. Four broad, overlapping areas representing the meaning of wellbeing were identified as potentially important: farming work; connectedness; the land; health and wellbeing. The inter-connected nature of farming life was identified as presenting a unique set of circumstances for ageing well. Specifically, it was suggested that maintaining self-integrity within farming life may be important. In light of the depth provided by qualitative studies into the lived experiences of older male farmers in the state of New South Wales, it was concluded that further research of this nature was required in other states of Australia. Researcher

Phenotype Extraction: Estimation and Biometrical Genetic Analysis of Individual Dynamics

Within-person data can exhibit a virtually limitless variety of statistical patterns, but it can be difficult to distinguish meaningful features from statistical artifacts. Studies of complex traits have previously used genetic signals like twin-based heritability to distinguish between the two. This dissertation is a collection of studies applying state-space modeling to conceptualize and estimate novel phenotypic constructs for use in psychiatric research and further biometrical genetic analysis. The aims are to: (1) relate control theoretic concepts to health-related phenotypes; (2) design statistical models that formally define those phenotypes; (3) estimate individual phenotypic values from time series data; (4) consider hierarchical methods for biometrical genetic analysis of individual phenotypic variation